At the start of 2021 Aotearoa New Zealand was on top of the world: we'd beaten covid, it was a glorious summer and the rest of the world looked-on in envy as we packed Auckland's waterfront to watch an enthralling America's Cup series that provided thrills, spills and maximum entertainment and a result that cemented our place at the top of the sporting pantheon.
It was shaping up to be an extraordinary year and one that professional photographers dream of: plenty of material to work with and happy people make for a rewarding and positive day's work.
But life is
full of surprises and 2021 was no exception.
After a few short-lived scares, Covid returned in mid-August to ruin the party and lock down a third of the country's citizens for over 100 days.
Suddenly the streets emptied, returning our biggest city to a ghost town, the only people to be seen were in queues: for a Covid test, for a vaccination or for food at the supermarket.
Queues are not the most picturesque of material and the nervous and anxious people that populate them are generally unwilling subjects.
In short, our lives were looking a whole lot less-than ordinary, a situation that throws up a real challenge to a press photographer.
But the real worth of a person is how they rise to a challenge. The Herald photographers' challenge being making our ordinary lives look extraordinary.
The art of photography is described as painting with light, the tools are a lens and way to capture that light (today we have photo-receptors rather than film). All rather simple stuff. But the results speak for themselves.
This is a fraction of the photographs that crossed the Herald Picture Desk in 2021. Hopefully, they are among the best that were filed.
It was a monumental achievement to produce such extraordinary views of Kiwis at work, rest, play and in the collective fight through the pandemic.
After a chance to rest and recharge over the holiday period, our photographers will be back on the tools soon enough to show Kiwis in the best light possible and to record whatever surprises 2022 has in store for us.
Mere Kirihimete and happy new year.
